About psychologists and chameleons
Автор: СТАРЕНКОВА ЕКАТЕРИНА ЮРЬЕВНА | STARENKOVA EKATERINA

Dear readers!.. The question of creating artificial intelligence is asked by people whose interests range from programming, machine learning and the creation of neural networks to philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and a number of other sciences that study the work of the brain. But a very interesting area that unites the work of these people is cognitive science, an interdisciplinary field that creates a single space for the creation of various theories. 
Knowledge about the structure of our cognitive system, understanding various aspects of higher mental functions and studying the field of emotions are the very components that are necessary to create a machine whose mind will not be inferior to the mind of its developer. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the potential and possible direction of the work of cognitive psychologists of the future, whose scientific works will form the basis for the creation of a new form of life. 


Date of recording: 09/20/2100.
"...In general, the EmotionalModeling program has proven its validity, reliability and right to exist. Errors are periodically detected during the operation of the software, however, the functionality of the product meets the stated requirements. For several months, employees of the Robotics Industries organization of department No. 312a, who are working on the synthesis and integration of electronic emotions, with the help of this program were able to create a prototype of an artificial personality with a unique orientation and a tendency to emotions characteristic of the spectrum..."
Dr. Blanche put down her pencil and leaned back in her chair. Months. It took years and decades to develop this software, which allows you to automatically simulate the emotional structure of robots. Although... In fact, much more time (according to Blanche herself) has flowed precisely to introduce the idea of creating a robot personality into development and explain the expediency of this to the authorities in principle. Why create a machine that can feel if it doesn't make a profit, if it can refuse to complete a task or even have any additional needs? 
Sometimes, when interacting with colleagues, Blanche really wanted to get her psychology degree and very clearly paint on the interactive whiteboard the fact that emotions play the lion's share in making any decisions. That the philosophical concepts of "bad", "good", "fair" are also abstract concepts that pass through the prism of human feelings. And in general, the sphere of motivation and will also, oddly enough, correlates with the area of affects. Take, for example, the last stage of schizophrenia: an apatoabulous defect manifested in pathological indifference and lack of desire for action. Is it possible to create an ideal artificial intelligence system that can exist solely on logic? The doctor did not doubt this much, but here is the vital activity of such a machine... It caused a lot of doubts. No pity, no compassion – and only the criterion of effectiveness as a priority parameter. And then, if something motivates her to live, to realize her own needs. 
The holographic screen of the tablet with diagrams of emotions blinked slightly. The parameters of the generated model flashed along its sides: intensity, modality, amplitude, reaction rate, interference delta, tendency to the type of reaction... Once upon a time, all this had to be calculated manually. But it seems that now technology is capable of doing this on its own at the proper level. The most unpleasant thing about this whole story was that it still did not work out to purposefully create an artificial personality: single models passed through natural selection, and even then, recognized as "defective" by customers (or bystanders). 
 - Come in!  Blanche jumped to her feet abruptly when she heard a soft knock on the door. No guests were planned at this time in the office of the head of No. 312a, however, recently rumors about the upcoming inspection have been slipping into the conversations of the scientific staff of the organization. What was its meaning is unknown. Who implements it, too. But no one wanted to fail the aptitude test.
- Hello, - a woman in a gray uniform, different from the standard uniform of a Robotics Industries employee, slipped into the office. Blanche winced slightly, but immediately pulled herself together: such a dress code did not belong to the engineers of all stripes of the scientific center, nor to those responsible for working with the staff. – Victoria Dean, checking in. 
"Have a seat," Blanche nodded and pulled out a chair for her guest, "please tell me the purpose of your arrival." 
With the gesture of a magician, the alien took out a paper from somewhere behind her back, on which the organization's coat of arms was visible to the naked eye, and from her pocket a nondescript business card with a minimum of information.  
- I suggest we get right to the heart of the problem. Recently, there have been more frequent cases of civilians meeting... With machines deliberately impersonating people. Previously, they were dubbed "chameleons", - Dr. Blanche tensed up a little and leaned forward, - We cannot say with full confidence that these models are a direct consequence of the marriage of your organization...
- Sorry for interrupting now, but Robotics Industries currently does not sell products that have not passed field tests. The company's robots, capable of feeling and making decisions based on the emotional sphere, are a very crude product, they do not move beyond the status of a "prototype". 
"So your competitors, who are also no strangers to high-level technology," Dean crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes. – It doesn't matter. Perhaps, while you are trying to recreate evolution by the type of primary broth, they are successfully betting on the cognitive component, improving cars as a technique, without recreating a bicycle.
"Remember pure mechanics in your mind, and it will materialize."
- ...Thus, all employees of the first order are required to undergo certification to identify the so-called "chameleons" and their subsequent neutralization. This is not an exam in its purest form, so I suggest we do without all these formalities. 
The doctor shrugged her shoulders doubtfully: at first they speak without formalities, then suddenly it turns out that a printed list of observed parameters can be wrapped around the desktop three times. 
- What ways will you identify such personalities? Hardware, psychological methods?  Dean steepled her fingers and stared at her expectantly.  
— well... Various methods have their advantages and disadvantages, at least depending on the time provided and the desire of the object to undergo any tests or install electrodes on itself. And for your "certification", which areas are of interest?.. 
- The more ways you can demonstrate, the higher the probability of potential success in revealing the disguise.
Blanche thought for a couple of seconds, going over in her head possible ways to identify the notorious chameleons. To give out the know-how of the company is definitely not, to talk about innovative samples is unlikely, except to go through the classic options, which will not be of interest either to possible competitors or to other interested parties who can create problems for the Center out of the blue. Because the status of a "verifier" does not mean anything yet, it is almost always possible to find ways to forge documents, even in electronic formats. 
- Then let's start, - the doctor went to the massive shelves and, reaching out, took out a small box from somewhere on the shelves.  - Pocket detector of electrical impulses. Formally, it is primarily an EEG device and allows you to take maps of an individual's brain activity. It is configured to work with a certain set of frequencies, which reduces the impact of external interference on the final result. However... It is much more effective to use it in the mode of reading potentials arising from the transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body system – but at the same time, it will not be possible to achieve one hundred percent coverage. If you point this device at the subject, then on the screen you can see the zones in which these processes are most active. 
- Go on, this is a very interesting way.
- In this case, the work of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems responsible for inhibition and activation of various functions is considered. Roughly speaking, here you can trace the effects of emotions on a physiological level. The latest models that we are working on are based on the basic foundations of the human structure, for them this is a particularly relevant area. However, we have not achieved much success yet, this is a complex work that requires the intervention of specialists from different fields. 
- And if, theoretically, the suspect belongs to a group of intelligent systems capable of consciously imitating these very nerve impulses in the likeness of a human model?.. You, as an organization, may not succeed in this business yet, but what if your competitors have already successfully mastered this stage?
- I don't think anyone could have created such a perfect machine. Although... Considering that every day our colleagues and competitors find ways to surprise humanity with the madness of their ideas, I would not be surprised that this stage has long been left behind. 
The conversation was interrupted by a quiet buzzing, punctuated by a staccato high-pitched squeak. A small black rounded clot, which had been quietly resting on the researcher's desk until that moment, pulled out a semblance of a pseudopod, grabbed an unattended pencil and tried to pull it towards him.
..What a lovely thing. Can I see it?  Victoria pointed her finger at a black ball resembling either a hedgehog without needles, or an anti-stress toy, with blue veins on the rubber surface. 
- Yes, of course...   Blanche carefully picked up the ball, which buzzed softly and spread across her palm, and handed it to the interlocutor. – My first invention in the field of emotion modeling in artificial intelligence systems, Jerry. I mean, it's not really mine in terms of technical design, but his emotional standards map was developed in this particular lab. 
- And how does this miracle work?  Victoria gently poked the pulsating ball with her fingernail. Jerry at first reached out to his new friend, but suddenly he abruptly leaned back and tried to pull away from her hands. 
- Jerry's "body" consists of many motors, the power of which depends on the factors affecting his condition. It's not that he can experience complex or composite emotions, but it's enough for the level of an amoeba. In general terms, this network is capable of fluctuating with varying intensity and rhythm, depending on whether Jerry needs to recharge, whether he is in a relaxed state or feels threatened by the environment. It is not equipped with visual analyzers, but it reacts to the frequency of sounds, temperature, surface condition and, in part, to the emotional background of the owner: trembling and humidity of the hands, other indirect signs... Hmmm... In fact, Jerry loves guests, I don't know what came over him," the researcher perplexedly took back her "pet" and sat him down on the table. Literally a second later, Jerry disappeared with a rustle into a pile of scribbled papers located away from Victoria. 
- And as a psychologist... Can you tell a car from a person by the type of thinking, the logic of judgments? By behavior, after all?
- It is difficult to say whether it is possible to identify the difference at the cognitive level. The question is, what do we define by consciousness, which is directly human education. I am inclined to believe that a person's awareness is determined by his ability to be in three time planes at the same time: he takes into account the mistakes of the past when making a decision, captures information at the moment, reacts to it properly and at the same time calculates his future steps.
The Doctor thought for a moment. Yes, perhaps, directness and categoricality were the main markers of robotic systems. Zero or one, yes or no. It is good that the latest models took into account additional influencing factors at the moment and could vary their judgments with the help of additional options "maybe", "maybe", "almost" and "with a degree of probability". 
- Computers of the old generation considered tasks as moving from point "A" to point "B". This is not the most optimal approach, given that a person, even "getting out of a situation", continues to process it for some time. But today, the average person is unlikely to be able to determine who his interlocutor is. However, if you conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of a potential "chameleon" not only for thinking, but also for compliance with the "situation – emotional reaction", you can get results that go beyond the norm of an ordinary person.
"Are you really using the Voight-Kampf empathic test to identify replicants?"..  Victoria barely suppressed a giggle.
- The battery of tests by psychologists of the old school perfectly identifies, if not "replicants", - Blanche showed quotes with her fingers, demonstrating Dean's awareness in the field of fiction, - then at least the cognitive and affective deviations of the subject. Naturally, it is impossible to make a diagnosis based only on the results of one technique, there is always a risk of encountering distortion of the results due to pathologies or simply specific features of the respondent. Although yes, such fantastic tests quite have some kind of alternatives, even if they are not completely identical. For example, I like to use the Rosenzweig frustration reaction test on systems in which... Yes, who are prone to aggressive behavior. Social robots often require additional checks before being allowed to work with people.
- Is this the same test with pictures of faceless characters to check reactions to failures and the way out of them? 
- He is the one, - the eyebrows of the employee crept up in surprise: psychological educational sessions with employees were conducted regularly (but to no avail), and the passage of the "useless and incomprehensible" questionnaires themselves did not particularly please anyone. However, this did not prevent the HR department from periodically "borrowing" the processed results and using the data obtained to its advantage. - Would you like to go through it?
- Come on, - Victoria stretched phlegmatically and cracked the bones of her hands. "You have a spare pen, don't you?" 
- There are no pens, funding from the management has not been set this year, and my conscience does not allow me to ask for grants for this. Wait a second, there are some pencils, I wish I could find them in this creative mess. Jerry sometimes hides them somewhere for a rainy day, he has to constantly replenish supplies at his own expense.
- It doesn't matter to me. 
The first picture, the second, the third... In one of the images, a car splashed a man's suit with water from a puddle, in the second – the girls are waiting for their late girlfriend. The subject was only supposed to write a possible reaction-the response of these characters, but the nature of the responses, the degree of aggression and its orientation could say a lot about the person passing the test. Will he admit his guilt, enter into a confrontation with the abuser, or just say that the circumstances were like that? Dean methodically ran a pencil over the bubbles of texts, writing something in calligraphic handwriting. Leaf by leaf at the same speed, without any emotion. 
Blanche, who had time to familiarize herself with the finished part of the work, moved away from the table and crossed her arms behind her back, immersed in her thoughts. Professional intuition sounded the alarm that high-ranking people did not come with checks from the bay, but cause-and-effect relationships refused to come together, organizing some kind of chaotic aggregate. A clear omission, what a shame. The doctor clutched a stun gun in her pocket, unknowingly switching it on: the nice small-sized thing almost always saved in unforeseen situations when experimental models threatened to smash the laboratory brick by brick in an attempt to arrange an unauthorized escape; half-asleep guards let dubious individuals looking for those responsible for technical progress ("they organized a checkpoint at the facility again!"), and further down the list. 
Blanche raised her head and met the glazed gaze of the guest, who slowly put down her pencil and got up from the table with the same speed. The air smelled of ozone. 
 The insight came with lightning speed, literally a second before Dean's hands would have closed around the employee's neck. The intensity of the pencil pressure in all the answers in the test was absolutely identical. An unambiguous impunitive reaction to frustrating situations, accompanied by a fair amount of fatalism and unwillingness to blame anyone. Jerry's "fear" fell into the hands of a stranger, although usually the "hedgehog" treated new situations with some degree of curiosity.
 "Ugh," Blanche reacted internally as unprofessionally as possible, quickly going over in her mind the ways to neutralize the humanoid robot. – Mark told me to get security systems for such cases. Who would listen to him!"
One, two. Realizing that the maneuver had failed, Dean changed tactics and began to slowly walk around the researcher in a circle. 
The very first case of an "attack" of a robotic system in Robotics Industries, oddly enough, actually took place before Blanche's eyes. And not only in front of our eyes, but also in the main roles. That day, the department tested the "aggression" parameter on a training dummy, whose reaction turned out to be unpredictable even for the head of the department, who fell into the bear grip of the doll due to disregard for the safety instructions. Perhaps it was unwise to come so close to a robotic system, whose actions could range from accidentally striking to trying to touch vital organs, to put it mildly, but who knew that the doll would show behavior that was not characteristic of affect, but would prefer to hide and let the victim get closer!
Three, four. The air stopped entering the lungs. A little more, and asphyxia will set in. The doctor kicked Dean with the last of her strength, who suddenly loosened her grip. 
There was a crackle of discharge, and from a blow with a pocket stun gun, the robot released the researcher from the grip, gurgled something and slowly began to settle to the floor. The doctor, staggering, accelerated towards the car and put her fingers outstretched – there was a click, and the head of "Victoria Dean" was in her hands. We were lucky: the standards for designing fourth-generation artificial intelligence models for all companies involved in the creation of robotic systems included the creation of those "weak points". For example, neck fasteners that allow you to separate the "brain" from the body, whose physical abilities could exceed human ones. Literally pressing two points at shoulder level, and the mechanism went out of order until an experienced craftsman (or an advanced user) assembled the humanoid robot into its original state. 
- And what is this?..  With a trembling hand, the doctor pulled out a stack of colorful papers from the pockets of Dean's uniform, each of which had a photo and a short dossier. Business cards, dozens of business cards, just like the one Victoria showed her. Each of them is a dossier and a photograph.
- And you, I see, are an advanced chameleon, - business cards almost suffered the fate of flying into the trash, but despite everything, they only scattered on the table. – I'll bring up the topic of these tricks at the meeting. 

Blanche ran her hand through Dean's hair: pure synthetic, but what a quality!.. The specimen she was dealing with now was almost the crowning achievement of technological progress, which was almost a great honor not to see, but at least to have the slightest idea. There have long been rumors about some innovative robotic developments that can change the appearance at their discretion. The timbre of the voice is not a question. The face is a flexible plastic mask. It was somewhat more difficult with the constitution of the body, because changing the distance between the details of the frame included some nuances, but this could well be implemented. But changing the length and color of the hair remained aerobatics, since for this operation chemicals were needed, obtained through the use of food products containing the required elements by the system. It's like a walking biological station, except that the functionality is a little simpler than that of a human.  
"Eric, the light of my eyes," Blanche tapped the intercom clock, first making sure that her fiery speech would not become the property of the general channel. – Tell me, please, how many employees of Robotics Industries are scheduled to go to the medical unit with, uh, the right and duty to remain silent, and how many of my people will be out of order in the coming week?.. The work will get up, you know, the schedules will go up in flames. 
- Bah, who do I hear, and without the usual officiousness!  The man's voice on the other side turned into a roar of laughter. His host, a somewhat overweight middle-aged man who is one of the founders of the organization, was clearly happy about the upcoming dialogue. - I believe you have already had the honor to meet our new supervisor, Transform Electronic System. Theses, gorgeous comrades, I'm crazy about them right now: they can even adopt your image if they spend enough time around and don't get stuck in the air from an excess of skepticism, ear-ha-ha!..
The researcher just took a deep breath. 
- ...Relax. Such checks are an honor only for top management. In fact, they should not "disable" anyone, and... It's a little weird if this robot was trying to use physical force. Okay, I can hear from my voice that I tried, - for a second it seemed to Eric that the device on his arm was heating up and clouds of steam were already pouring out of it. It's amazing how the doctor could broadcast thoughts and feelings over long distances without uttering a single sound at all. "I suppose they just made inquiries about you and took precautions in advance. The HR officer is still shocked that you grab the shocker at any mechanical creak, by the way.
- This is the job. So who are these Theses, again?  Blanche flopped wearily into a chair, realizing that she was unlikely to be pleased with what she had heard.  
- Government order. The cat didn't have enough information on them, most likely, an international product, a piece purchase. To be honest, I wouldn't even take them – they cost too much!
- Don't tell me that they will be taught how to handle weapons, they have a lot of potential in this steppe. If they all have such paranoia, can you imagine what would happen if they decided to organize their own diaspora pursuing their own goals? Am I already preparing for the implementation of the "Second Model" scenario** and the mass appearance of "screamers"***?
"I suspect that someone from above has already taken care of this issue," Eric's voice became serious. – Transformers with a high degree of autonomy, a high level of planning and decision-making. I can't say how much they meet your ideas of "robots with functionality indistinguishable from human", but if they are not capable of emotions at the moment, they can effectively parody them already at this stage. Therefore, under the guise of a "competence check", the soil is being probed, I think so. 
"What a joy," Blanche said gloomily. – First, create a precedent, teach others how to behave if things don't go according to plan – and that's what it's coming to - and continue developing. Phenomenal.
- Well, uh-huh... In any case, this is your field of activity. There will be no TESS, something else will appear. The demand for "highly intelligent robots" among civilians is constantly growing, you understand that the more given in terms of abilities, the more freedom is required. And there's a step, two more – and our creations will wave at us and declare that they themselves have moustaches.
- How fast children grow up. 
- And you are actively contributing to this, - a winking face appeared on the intercom. – So are you in business?
"I'm afraid no one asked for my opinion," Blanche twirled one of the business cards in her hand, the image of the face on which suspiciously resembled herself. – So, I have a report-a compilation of methods for detecting "chameleons"?
- And my partner in grandiose ideas understands everything, - Eric smiled. – Okay, I'm going to have another emergency in five minutes, I can't hang on the intercom. 
- See you soon, - the doctor pointed to the instantly darkened watch screen. The corners of her lips slowly crept down. Casually stepping over the android's motionless body, as if he hadn't tried to strangle her a little just ten minutes ago, Blanche sat down at the table and stared unseeingly at the wall: again she would have to sort tasks in order of priority. If this continues, then she will definitely begin to systematically process the manual so that she will be given at least a junior researcher, at least an intern student, at least some kind of intellectual system, after all! Blanche was brought out of her thoughts by a growing hum, raised by an obviously "hungry" pet. 
- Sorry, Jerry, - the doctor picked up the indignantly squeaking ball and put it on a round charging field next to the tablet lying on the table. – Now, now, we are a little behind schedule.
The balloon purred approvingly and poked Blanche in the palm of her hand. And no one noticed how the dismantled head of the humanoid robot, left lying alone on a chair, blinked a couple of times.  


Note
1. * - "Do androids dream of electric cars?"
2. ** "The second model"
3. *** "Screamers" - the film adaptation of the "Second Model"
4. Rosenzweig's Frustration Reaction Test - https://psylab.info/Тест_фрустрационных_реакций_Rosenzweig